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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #65702
Title: EFFECTS OF VITAMIN C CONCENTRATION AND CO-INJECTION WITH CALCIUM CHLORIDE ON BEEF COLOR

Author
item Wheeler, Tommy
item Koohmaraie, Mohammad
item Shackelford, Steven

Submitted to: Journal of Animal Science Supplement
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/18/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The objectives were 1) to determine if vitamin C injected into beef top round cuts would stabilize color during retail display and, if so, what concentration would be most effective, and 2) to determine the effect of incorporating vitamin C into a calcium chloride injection solution. Top round cuts were injected with 5% by weight of a 0, .25, .5, 1, 2, or 4% sodium ascorbate solution (Exp. 1), or a 0, .5, 1, or 1.5% sodium ascorbate solution (Exp. 2). Cuts were aged either 14 (Exp. 1) or 16 (Exp. 2) d, then 2.54-cm thick steaks were cut, overwrapped with PVC film and stored at 9 deg C (Exp. 1), or at either 1 or 9 deg C (Exp. 2) for 7 d under 2152 lx of ultralume fluorescent light. In Exp. 1, vitamin C resulted in more (P < .05) stable lean color during 9 deg C display, and .5, 1, and 2% vitamin C were most (P < .05) effective. In Exp. 2, color stability scores indicated all concentrations of vitamin C maintained redder (P < .05) steaks at 3, 5, and 7 d display than control steaks. Experiment 3 utilized bottom rounds to compare control, vitamin C, CaCl**2, and vitamin C + CaCl**2 treated (injected with 5% by weight of a 1% sodium ascorbate solution, 200 mM calcium chloride solution or both in combination, respectively) steaks displayed at 1 deg C. Calcium chloride treated steaks were browner (P < .05) on d 5 and 7, while steaks treated with vitamin C or vitamin C + CaCl**2 were redder (P < .05) and had lower (P < .05) discoloration on d 5 and 7 than control steaks. Vitamin C (alone, or in combination with CaCl**2) can be injected into beef subprimals to enhance lean color stability and extend retail display life.